that is what i do with my shocker gyvanth and will be doing it to my etha when i get one in the works.

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who runs around with tape on everything I own Electrical tape and Teflon tape are the best things to ever happen to paintball in my opinion. Almost any problem outside of a major mechanical defect can be fixed with one of those tapes.

I've been playing ball for a long time now, and I've had a lot of high dollar markers in my hands. After recently purchasing an Etha - I can honestly say it is the best "bang per buck" I have ever seen / shot.

They run incredibly smooth, do not have nearly as much noise output as an eTek, and is incredibly easy to adjust (both trigger and board).

It's not a marker that requires massive upgrades, and the stock barrel is surprisingly quiet.

After a few weekends of playing, two of my friends have purchased Etha's themselves. One was an owner of a Reflex and one was an owner of an NXT shocker. Both of them say they'd but the Etha against those markers any day of the week.

But, when it's all said and done. There are only a few key areas to focus on. Air efficiency, vibration, sound, etc. Nearly all electronics these days can hit 12.5 BPS or 15 BPS, and they all of course can shoot 285 to 300 (durrr), so I never consider max rate of fire when determining the quiality of a marker. And I would suggest ignoring anyone who says 'poor accuracy', as accuracy has far too many variables to consider. If you use quality paint, match your barrels accordingly, and don't shake like MJ Fox, you'll be fine.

To me - I want to see how it feels, how smooth the internals operate, the ability to perform maintenance with relative ease, the sound signature, etc.

With all things considered (and price obviously has a huge impact), the Etha is one incredible marker. Yes, a DM13, Geo, Clone, G6R, etc are all just sweet as apple pie, and outperform the Etha is many of the important aspects. But for the price - they better, right?

Do not assume this marker is 'lame' due to its entry level PRICE. It will keep up with any other marker on the field. I speak from experience.

Every person I know who has shot an Etha, brags about them to their friends. They are becoming VERY popular in my area, and for good reasons.